State v. Karaba

── State v. Karaba ── Case No.: 1 CA-CR 25-0218 Court: Court of Appeals of Arizona Date: March 19, 2026 Category: General NOTICE: NOT FOR OFFICIAL PUBLICATION. UNDER ARIZONA RULE OF THE SUPREME COURT 111(c), THIS DECISION IS NOT PRECEDENTIAL AND MAY BE CITED ONLY AS AUTHORIZED BY RULE. IN THE ARIZONA COURT OF APPEALS DIVISION ONE STATE OF ARIZONA, Appellee, v. ISAAC KARABA, Appellant. No. 1 CA-CR 25-0218 FILED 03-19-2026 Appeal from the Superior Court in Maricopa County No. CR2024-113273-001 The Honorable Michael S. Mandell, Judge AFFIRMED COUNSEL Arizona Attorney General’s Office, Phoenix By Michael J. Woodburn Counsel for Appellee Maricopa County Office of the Legal Advocate, Phoenix By Colin F. Stearns Counsel for Appellant  STATE v. KARABA Decision of the Court MEMORANDUM DECISION Judge Cynthia J. Bailey delivered the decision of the Court, in which Presiding Judge Daniel J. Kiley and Judge D. Steven Williams joined. B A I L E Y, Judge: ¶1 Isaac Karaba appeals his conviction and sentence for escape in the second degree. For the following reasons, we affirm. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY ¶2 We view the facts in the light most favorable to sustaining Karaba’s conviction. See State v. Thompson, 252 Ariz. 279, 287 n.3 (2022). ¶3 On March 19, 2024, Karaba, a native Swahili speaker, arrived in Phoenix from Kenya and went to his cousin’s apartment. A few hours later, the cousin’s roommate called 911 and alleged that Karaba had attacked him with a kitchen knife. When police arrived, Karaba remained inside the apartment for several minutes despite officers’ repeated commands to exit. When Karaba finally emerged, he was holding two kitchen knives. The officers ordered Karaba to drop the knives and tased him when he did not. ¶4 Karaba was arrested for felony aggravated assault and taken to a hospital for a post-taser examination. There, an officer questioned him and Karaba responded in English. The officer then placed Karaba, who was handcuffed and barefoot, in the back of a patrol car to take him to jail. On the drive, Karaba began shouting in a foreign language and kicking the seats. When Karaba refused to stop kicking, the officers in the car requested other officers prepare a “wrap” restraint and returned with Karaba to the hospital parking lot. ¶5 Once there, an officer cracked open the rear passenger door to tell Karaba to stop kicking. At this point the restraint was not ready and the officer did not intend to remove Karaba from the vehicle. Karaba immediately slid across the rear seat from the driver’s side, stuck his legs out of the car, and attempted to push open the door against the officer’s efforts to keep it shut. Karaba “had at that point gotten his body outside of the door, and it actually pushed [the officer] back from the door.” Karaba placed both feet on the ground and stuck his head outside the car while 2  STATE v. KARABA Decision of the Court speaking rapidly in a foreign language. Officers then secured Karaba, removed him from the car, and positioned him to apply the restraint. ¶6 The State charged Karaba with aggravated assault and escape in the second degree. At trial, Karaba testified in his own defense with the aid of a Swahili interpreter. The jury found Karaba guilty on the escape charge only and the court sentenced him to one year of supervised probation. ¶7 Karaba timely appealed. We have jurisdiction under Article 6, Section 9, of the Arizona Constitution and Arizona Revised Statutes